Office workstation help

[diman1881]

First off, I searched the forums for similar threads and although I found some most seem outdated...

Please advise on the cost effective workstation setup for the following:

Looking for an external monitor or 2 for my my late 2013 rMBP along with keyboard / mouse or trackpad. Primary need for this is ergonomics (I'm in the office for 10+ hours a day and don't want to turn into the hunchback of Notre Dam....

I was thinking of getting the mstand 360 in order to not lose the retina screen and adding an external monitor or 2.

USE: I do not work with graphics, photos, or video so a 4k monitor (as nice as it would be) is not cost efficient. I am looking for more real-estate to have multiple docs open that I can refer to simultaneously.

Anyone running a similar setup?

Open to suggestions!

 

[mgipe]

I suggest the Apple Thunderbolt display/docking station.

The display is perfect for your uses. You can show two documents in full page portrait format next to each other, with some room on the screen left over for another smaller window (file manager, mail, safari, etc.) It includes the charger for the MBP, and USB connections for things like an external HDD for time machine, a superdrive, wired keyboard, a printer, or whatever.

I also have a smaller, cheaper Dell display (lower res) placed off to the side as a second monitor. This is occasionally useful when I need more than three reference documents open at the same time. I run in clamshell mode, but you could open the MBP and use its smaller screen as a second monitor instead.

A 4K monitor would not work as well. It's not high enough resolution for retina, but too high for properly sized icons, text, etc.

Some would disagree with this suggestion saying it's overpriced, but to me the utility is well worth it.

 

[Mikael H]

If you can afford or justify it, go with the Thunderbolt Display, as @mgipe wrote.

I run my MBPr with an Apple Wireless keyboard and a Magic Trackpad at work, connected to a regular 1900x1200 display, with my laptop's display as a secondary screen. It works for what I do, so I can't justify the 4x price difference between what I have and what I'd like, but I would enjoy the extra real estate of Apple's 27" screen.

Ergonomically, I really can't complain about the keyboard and trackpad. I have been toying with the idea of an MStand,though.